Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698939442655.pdf (Trinidad and Tobago)
Tenth parliament [2011/2012 session] Seventh Report Of the Joint select Committee appointed to inquire into and report on municipal corporations and service commissions with the exception of the judicial and legal service commission An Evaluation of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Chaguanas borough corporation Together with the Minutes of Proceedings and Notes of Evidence Ordered to be printed by the Houses 0 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Seventh REPORT An Evaluation of the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Date Laid: H.O.
R. __________________ Senate ___________________ 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Table of Contents Page No.
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Committee .............................................................................................................................. 1 (a) Establishment ................................................................................................................................ 1 (b) Powers ........................................................................................................................................... 1 (c) Membership .................................................................................................................................. 2 (d) Secretariat Support ........................................................................................................................ 3 (e) Meetings ........................................................................................................................................ 3 (f) Attendance .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Minister’s Response .......................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Background of Inquiry .............................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 The Evidence ................................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Observations/Findings .................................................................................................................... 13 4.2 4.3 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 15 Appendix 1: Areas of Responsibility .......................................................................................................... 19 Appendix 2: Minutes ................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix 3: Notes of the Proceedings ........................................................................................................ 33 Appendix 4: Draft Estimates of Development Programme for the Financial Year 2010 and 2012 for the Chaguanas Borough Corporation ................................................................................................................ 51 Appendix 5: Responsibilities under the purview of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation ....................... 55 Appendix 6: Organizational Chart of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation ............................................. 59 Appendix 7: Chaguanas Borough Corporation Accomplishments for the period October 2009 to September 2010 Recurrent Projects ............................................................................................................ 63 i 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Executive Summary In the Second Session of the Tenth Parliament the Committee decided to commence evaluations into the efficiency and effectiveness of the Municipal Corporations under its remit.
This process realized assessments of the Arima Borough Corporation and the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

Subsequently, the Annual Administrative Report of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation for 2009-2010 was laid in the Senate and the House of Representatives on September 9th and 14th, 2011 respectively.
The Committee considered the Report and agreed that there were issues which required clarification and consequently decided to commence an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Corporation.
This Seventh Report of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament appointed to inquire into and report on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission is based on the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC).

Chapter 1 of the Report details the mandate and powers of the Committee in accordance with section 66A of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the mode of operations.
Chapter 2 of the Report gives the background of the inquiry into the evaluation of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

Chapter 3 of the Report gives a synopsis of evidence taken at the public inquiry with the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

Chapter 4 of the Report gives the recommendations proposed by the Committee and the conclusions on the evaluation.
iii 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Abbreviations Abbreviation Meaning CBC DPA SRP Chaguanas Borough Corporation Director of Personnel Administration Special Reserve Police ODPM Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management PSIP PSC NIS SWOT HDC Public Sector Investment Programme Public Service Commission National Insurance Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Housing Development Corporation iv 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Chapter 1 1.1 The Committee Establishment Section 66 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago declares, that not (a) 1. later than three months after the first meeting of the House of Representatives, the Parliament shall appoint Joint Select Committees to inquire into and report to both Houses in respect of Government Ministries, Municipal Corporations, Statutory Authorities, State Enterprises and Service Commissions, in relation to their administration, the manner of exercise of their powers, their methods of functioning and any criteria adopted by them in the exercise of their powers and functions.
2.
Motions for the above purpose were agreed to in the House of Representatives on September 17, 2010 and the Senate on October 12, 2010 and thereby established inter alia, the Joint Select Committee to inquire into and report to Parliament on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission on all matters relating to their administration, the manner of exercise of their powers, their methods of functioning and any criteria adopted by them in the exercise of theirs powers and functions.
(b) 3.

Powers Standing Orders 71B of the Senate and 79B of the House of Representatives outline that the Committee is empowered to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management and operations of the Ministry or Body assigned to it by the House.
In consequence the Committee has the powers inter alia: a. to review and report on all matters relating to:  the statute law relating to the Ministry/body assigned to it; 1 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission  the program and policy objectives of the Ministry/Body and its effectiveness in the implementation of same;  other matters relating to the management, organization of the Ministry/body; 4.
In addition, this Joint Select Committee also has power to:  send for persons, papers and records;  adjourn from place to place;  report from time to time;  appoint specialist advisers either to supply information which is not otherwise readily available, or to elucidate matters of complexity within the Committee; and  meet concurrently with any other Committee for the purpose of deliberating, taking evidence or considering draft reports.
List of Entities falling under the purview of this Committee is attached as Appendix I.

(c) 5.

Membership The current membership of the Committee is comprised as follows:  Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan  Mr. Elton Prescott, SC - - Chairman Vice-Chairman  Brig.

John Sandy1  Mr. David Abdulah2  Ms. Shamfa Cudjoe  Mr. Devant Maharaj  Mrs. Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, MP  Mr. Chandresh Sharma, MP  Mr. Rodger Samuel, MP  Mr. Prakash Ramadhar, MP  Mrs. Joanne Thomas, MP 1 Brig.
John Sandy’s Ministerial and Senatorial appointments were revoked with effect from June 25, 2012.

2 Mr. David Abdullah’s Senatorial appointment was revoked with effect from June 22, 2012.
2 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission  Ms. Marlene McDonald, MP Secretariat Support Secretarial assistance was provided by the following officers: Mrs. Jacqueline Phillip-Stoute Ms. Candice Skerrette Ms. Indira Binda - - - Secretary Assistant Secretary Graduate Research Assistant Meetings The Committee held one meeting with Officials from the Chaguanas Borough (d) 6.

(e) 7.
(e) 7.

Corporation on Friday May 25, 2012 to carry out its evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Corporation.

(f) 8.
Attendance Members’ attendance at meetings as at Friday May 25th, 2012: Members Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan (Chairman) Mr. Elton Prescott, S.C. (Vice Chairman) Brigadier John Sandy Mr. Devant Maharaj Mr. Chandresh Sharma Mr. David Abdulah Ms. Shamfa Cudjoe Mr. Prakash Ramadhar Mrs. Joanne Thomas Mrs. Vernella Alleyne-Toppin Mr. Rodger Samuel Ms. Marlene Mc Donald Overall Attendance: - - - - - - - - - - - - Meetings attended 14 out of 15 14 out of 15 10 out of 15 6 out of 7 13 out of 15 14 out of 15 11 out of 15 5 out of 15 13 out of 15 11 out of 15 12 out of 15 2 out of 15 66.5% 3 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission 1.2 Minister’s Response 9.
This Report is subject to Standing Orders 71(B)(13) of the Senate and 79(B) (13) of the House of Representatives which states: “(13) The Minister responsible for the Ministry/Body under review shall, not later than sixty days after a report from a Joint Select Committee, relating to the Ministry/Body has been laid upon the Table, present a paper to the House responding to any recommendations/comments contained in the report which are addressed to it.
All such papers presented by the Ministry/Body shall be ordered to be laid upon the Table without question put, and any motion for the printing thereof as a House Paper shall be determined without amendment or debate.” The sixty-day period commences on the date of tabling.

4 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Chapter 2 Background of Inquiry Introduction 10.
In the Second Session of the Tenth Parliament, the Committee began evaluations into the Municipal Corporations under its remit.

As such, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation was the second Municipal Corporation to be evaluated.

11.

Subsequently, the Annual Administrative Report of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation for 2009-2010 was laid in the Senate and the House of Representatives on September 9th and 14th, 2011 respectively.

12.
12.

The Committee considered the above Report and agreed that there are issues which require clarification and therefore decided to commence an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Corporation.

Broad Areas of Focus 13.


Prior to the evaluation written responses relating to the under-mentioned areas were requested from the Corporation:  Review of the administrative management from 2009 to 2011;  Status Report on its objectives and goals listed in its 2010 Report;  Medium-Term Strategic Plan up to 2015;  Planned Areas of Implementation up to 2015; and  Legislative and Regulatory adjustments that can enhance the effectiveness of the Corporation.

Areas of Focus 14.
Following receipt of the requested information, and after thorough scrutiny of the submissions made by the Corporation, your Committee agreed that the following will be the key areas for which clarification was required:  the Role of the Public Service Commission 5 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission  Achievements of the CBC  Disaster Preparedness and role of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM)  Traffic problems and alleviation  Municipal Police 15.
The Committee subsequently invited the Corporation to attend a meeting on May 25, 2012.
At this meeting the Chaguanas Borough Corporation was represented by the following officials: Mr. Ashmead Mohammed Chief Executive Officer Ms. Jemma Davis Mr. Orlando Nagessar Mr. Ranjit Persad Mr. Boniface Ogama Mr. Gulab Maraj Mr. Andrew Bereaux Mr. David Brigmohan Mr. Andrew Ramnarace Mr. Roddy Beharry Ms. Joan Harrison Mr. Gopaul Boodhan Mr. Ramesh Ramdhan Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mayor County Superintendent Engineer Financial Officer Building Inspector II Ag.

Police Inspector Ag.


Accountant II Planning Officer Public Health Inspector III Deputy Mayor Alderman 16.

Detailed hereunder are the findings, recommendations, observations and conclusion of your Committee’s evaluation of the Corporation.

17.

The Minutes of the Committee’s proceedings are attached as Appendix 2 and the Verbatim Notes as Appendix 3.

18.
18.

In accordance with Standing Orders 75(4)(b) of the Senate and 82(4)(b) of the House of Representatives, the Committee at a meeting held on January 25, 2013 considered and adopted this Seventh Report.

6 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Chapter 3 3.1 The Evidence Chaguanas Borough Corporation 19.
The Chaguanas Borough Corporation (CBC) is a Local Government Authority which was incorporated in September 1990 by the Municipal Corporation Act 21 of 1990.

The CBC is approximately 115 square kilometers.

The Corporation operates a Council/Chairman form of government and provides the following services as authorized by the Act: development and maintenance of public infrastructure, health and environmental services, recreational and public services, including safety and well-being.

20.
20.

For political and electoral purposes, the Borough is sub-divided into eight (8) Electoral Districts as follows:-  Enterprise North  Enterprise South  Edinburgh / Longdenville  Felicity / Endeavour  Munroe Road / Caroni Savannah Road  Montrose  Cunupia  Charlieville 21.
The Map below indicates the location of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation within the island of Trinidad: 7 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Figure 1: Location of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Functions of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation 22.
The Chaguanas Borough Corporation remains responsible for:  Collection and disposal of garbage;  Cleaning of cesspits and septic tanks;  Construction and maintenance of roads (other than main roads and highways) including the provision and maintenance of the related drains, bridges, side-walks and street-signs;  Street-lighting;  Provision and maintenance of minor water courses;  Provision, maintenance and control of public cemeteries and cremation facilities;  Provision, maintenance and control of public recreation grounds, parks, and squares;  Provision and maintenance and regulation of public retail markets and slaughter- houses; 8 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission  Inspection of buildings and building sites;  Approval of building and housing-development plans;  Cleaning of public spaces;  Insect vector, rodent and canine control;  Disaster management;  Distribution of truck-borne water, in the dry season, to areas without pipelines;  Assessment and collection of land and building taxes (in cities and boroughs at present);  Establishing Municipal Bye-laws and policies to regulate their functions; and  Enforcing Municipal Bye-laws through the Municipal police 23.
During its deliberations your Committee found that: (i) Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) Allocation The PSIP allocation to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation for the year 2009 was $8.4 million.

This figure was increased to $18.7 million in 2011-2012. implementation rate of The programmes has increased by 98%3.

See Appendix 4 the Chaguanas Borough Corporation PSIP (ii) Construction of a New Administrative Building The CBC is the only municipality with a new administrative complex building.
Provision was made in the Estimates of Development Programme Expenditure 2012 for the customization and outfitting of the new Administrative Complex of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation in the sum of One Million dollars ($1,000,000.00).
(iii) Accomplishments for 2009 to 2010 The Table hereunder details the accomplishments of the CBC for the period October 2009 to September 2010: 3 Draft Estimates of Development Programme for the Financial Year 2010 and 2012 for the Chaguanas Borough Corporation see Appendix 4 9 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Chaguanas Borough Corporation Accomplishments for the period October 2009 to September 2010 Recurrent Projects Building Inspector Works in conjunction with 394 Building Applications Received Agencies inclusive of the Town 119 Building Applications Deferred and Country Planning Division 112 Building Applications Approved in receiving requests for 282 Building Applications Outstanding approvals of layouts and 50 Sub-Division Layouts Received buildings - ensures compliance 13 Sub-Division Layouts Deferred with the National Building 19 Sub-Division Layouts Approved Codes and litigates against unauthorized and dilapidated structures.
31 Sub-Division Layouts Outstanding 72 Completion Certificate Received No Completion Certificate Deferred 72 Completion Certificate Approved No Completion Certificate Outstanding 58 Social Welfare Applications Received 50 Complaints Received 50 Complaints Investigated 14 Show Cause Notices Served Table 1 : Extracted from the Administrative Report of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation for the year 2009-2010 page 18 (iv) Management of Traffic Congestion A major issue throughout the Borough is traffic congestion which is especially felt on the Chaguanas Main Road.
In an effort to reduce the traffic congestion experienced by drivers/commuters, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation undertook the following measures:  Removal of street vendors- Street Vendors account for the mass buildup of traffic because they occupy one of the lanes on the Chaguanas Main Road.

The Corporation has removed the vendors.

This has resulted in the free flow of traffic along the Chaguanas Main Road.
10 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission  Creation of a Vendors’ Mall- The Chaguanas Borough Corporation acquired three acres of land from the Ministry of Health.

This land was cleared and two hundred and fifty (250) vendors’ booths were erected.

 Traffic Wardens- The twenty-five (25) traffic wardens placed on the Chaguanas Main Road continue to allow traffic to flow freely.
(v) Problems affecting the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Municipal Police There is urgent need for an increase in the number of Municipal Police Officers.

Understaffing has resulted in the under-performance of the Municipal Police in fulfilling their mandate within the Corporation.

The recruitment of the Municipal Police is done by the Public Service Commission through the Director of Personnel Administration (DPA).
To facilitate this process, deficiencies within the Corporation must be submitted to the Ministry of Local Government.

(vi) Obstacles encountered by the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Insufficient supplement of Special Reserve Police (SRPs) Demotivation of SRPs due to non-allocation of the allowance of $1000 (vii) Disaster Preparedness of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Municipal Corporations are the first responder agencies in the management of disasters.
They have the primary responsibility for Disaster Preparedness within the Borough.

The CBC is in constant communication, coordination and training with the ODPM and all first responder agencies such as:    the Defence Force the Trinidad and Tobago of Police Service the Fire Service 11 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Currently, the CBC is drawing up an evacuation plan for the Borough.
(viii) Dangerous Dog Act  The CBC is charged with operationalizing the Dangerous Dog Act.
 The Corporation however is faced with the following challenges in the implementation of the Act: Lack of trained personnel in dog handling Lack of infrastructure to house dangerous dogs such as kennels Lack of funding for the implementation of Act 12 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Chapter 4 Observations/Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion 4.1 Observations/Findings 24.
The Committee was very pleased with the operations of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation and wishes to commend them for their efforts.

25.

However, the Committee recognized that while other cities and boroughs within Trinidad and Tobago are provided for and guided under the Statutory Authorities Service Commissions Act (SASC), the Chaguanas Borough Corporation along with the other nine Regional Corporations are represented by the Public Service Commission.
This poses a number of challenges such as: RESOURCES 26.

Chaguanas being the fastest growing town in the country at present is being constrained by the limited resources currently available to them.

HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES 27.

The Chaguanas Borough Corporation is one of three (3) Corporations which do not possess the services of a Personnel and Industrial Relations Officer.

The Corporation is therefore plagued with a number of human resource issues.

28.
28.

The Human Resource Committee and by extension the Personnel Committee are responsible for the development of policies and practices.

The presence of the requisite human capacity to implement them is necessary.

MUNICIPAL POLICE 29.

The Corporation is challenged by the limited number of Municipal Police Officers who are attached to it.

The CBC has therefore used funds to hire Special Reserve Police to support the Municipal Police.
13 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 30.

While the Corporation approves of the proclamation of the Dangerous Dogs Act, there are a number of concerns which should be dealt with before the actual implementation of the Act.

GOVERNMENT’S FINANCING 31.

Corporations are financed by the government.


In cases where a Corporation chooses to raise its own funds by charging fees for use of certain facilities, the government deducts this amount from its allocation to the Corporation.

4.2 Recommendations 32.

In light of the foregoing, your Committee proposes the following recommendations to assist the Chaguanas Borough Corporation in the execution of its duties: RESOURCES 33.
Resources and funding to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation should be increased to allow for greater support of its burgesses.

HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES 34.

A proper Human Resource Management Unit must be established within the Corporation to minimize human resource issues.

MUNICIPAL POLICE 35.

The Director of Public Administration should through the Public Service Commission recruit an additional seven (7) Municipal Police to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation by June 2013.

DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 36.


A public education campaign on the Dangerous Dogs Act should be embarked upon in order to educate residents about the Act and the changes that are necessary should they opt to keep their dogs.

14 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission 37.

Additionally, the provision of adequate funding, staffing and sufficient infrastructure is required prior to operationalizing the Act.
GOVERNMENT FINANCING 38.

Adjustments need to be made with regard to the process of acquisition of funds from the government in order to minimize the lengthy process and to allow the Corporation to execute its duties in a timely manner.

39.

Furthermore, the Corporation should be allowed to use revenues raised at their own disposal.

40.
40.

A Municipal Corporation Court should be established to oversee breaches against the Municipal Corporation Act as well as to allow all Corporations to keep all income generated from fines, charges or levies.

4.3 Conclusion 41.

The overall purpose of the inquiry was to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

As such the Committee is of the view that the Chaguanas Borough Corporation functions at an acceptable level.
There are however critical areas to be improved in the Corporation such as its human resource and funding, the implementation of a Human Resource Unit and increasing its security capacity.

15 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Sgd.

Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan Chairman Sgd.

Mr. Elton Prescott, S.C. Vice-Chairman Sgd.

Mr. Devant Maharaj Member Sgd.

Mr. Chandresh Sharma Member Sgd.


Mrs. Vernella Alleyne-Toppin Member Sgd.

Mrs. Joanne Thomas Member Sgd.

Mr. Rodger Samuel Member Sgd.

Ms. Shamfa Cudjoe Member Sgd.

Mr. Prakash Ramadhar Member Sgd.
Ms. Marlene McDonald Member Brigadier John Sandy Member Mr. David Abdulah Member 16 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission APPENDICES 17 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 1 Areas of Responsibility 19 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Areas of responsibility: Police Service Commission Public Service Commission Statutory Authorities’ Service Commission Teaching Service Commission Arima Borough Corporation Chaguanas Borough Corporation Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation Diego Martin Regional Corporation Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Point Fortin Borough Corporation Port of Spain City Corporation Princes Town Regional Corporation San Fernando City Corporation Sangre Grande Regional Corporation San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation Siparia Regional Corporation Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation 21 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 2 Minutes 23 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission MINUTES OF THE FIFTEENTH MEETING OF THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO s INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION HELD IN THE J. HAMILTON MAURICE ROOM, MEZZANINE FLOOR, OFFICE OF THE PARLIAMENT, TOWER D, THE PORT OF SPAIN INTERNATIONAL WATERFRONT CENTRE, #1A WRIGHTSON ROAD, PORT OF SPAIN ON FRIDAY MAY 25, 2012 AT 9:30 A.M.
Present were: Mr. Elton Prescott, S.C. Mr. Devant Maharaj Mr. Chandresh Sharma, MP Mrs. Vernella Alleyne-Toppin, MP Mrs. Joanne Thomas, MP Ms. Shamfa Cudjoe Mr. Rodger Samuel, MP Brig.
John Sandy Mrs. Jacqueline Phillip Stoute Ms. Candice Skerrette Ms. Indira Binda - - - - - - - - - - - Vice-Chairman Member Member Member Member Member Member Member Secretary Assistant Secretary Graduate Research Assistant The following Officials from Chaguanas Borough Corporation were available: Mr. Ashmead Mohammed Ms. Jemma Davis Mr. Orlando Nagessar Mr. Ranjit Persad Mr. Boniface Ogama Mr. Gulab Maraj Mr. Andrew Bereaux Mr. David Brigmohan Mr. Andrew Ramnarace Mr. Roddy Beharry Ms. Joan Harrison Mr. Gopaul Boodhan Mr. Ramesh Ramdhan - - - - - - - - - - - - - Chief Executive Officer Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mayor County Superintendent Engineer Financial Officer Building Inspector II Ag.
Police Inspector Ag.

Accountant II Planning Officer Public Health Inspector III Deputy Mayor Alderman The following Officials from Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation were also available: Mr. Dave Persad - - Chairman Ag.
Chief Executive Officer Mrs. Susan Rajkumar Absent/Excused were: Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan Mr. Prakash Ramadhar, MP Mr. David Abdulah Ms. Marlene McDonald, MP - - - - Chairman (excused) Member (excused) Member (excused) Member 25 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission INTRODUCTION The Deputy Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. in the Arnold Thomasos 1.1 Room East.
1.2 Members were informed that Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan, Mr. Prakash Ramadhar and Mr. David Abdulah have asked to be excused.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 2.1 The following corrections were made to the Minutes:  Page 1 Insert “Excused” after “Brig.

John Sandy-Member”   Item 7.1, Page 5 Delete “till” and insert “until” Item 7.2, Page 5 Insert after “Ms.
Bissoondaye Rajkumar” the words “in connection with a letter sent to the Chairman under the caption “Complaint to the JSC in the matter of Cherry Ann Rajkumar and the failure of the Ministry of Local Government to appoint me in Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, addition to my complaint dated 27th March, 2012”.” The Minutes of the fourteenth meeting held on April 27, 2012, as amended were 2.2 confirmed by Mrs. Joanne Thomas, MP and seconded by Mr. Chandresh Sharma, MP.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES Letter dated May 15, 2012 was forwarded to the Public Service Commission requesting 3.1 additional information with respect to the Commission.

A letter addressed to Ms. Bissoondaye Rajkumar under the subject “Complaint to the JSC 3.2 in the matter of Cherry Ann Rajkumar and the failure of the Ministry of Local Government to appoint me in Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, addition to my complaint dated 27th March, 2012” was read into the record.
3.4 The Committee was informed that on May 22 and 23, 2012, the First Report of the Committee was circulated for Members’ signatures.

The meeting was suspended at 9:51 a.m. (Members proceeded to the J. Hamilton Maurice Room, Mezzanine Floor) DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OFFICIALS OF CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION (CBC) 4.1 4.2 The meeting resumed in the J. Hamilton Maurice Room at 10:00 a.m.

The Vice-Chairman welcomed officials of the CBC.

Introductions were exchanged.


26 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission On request of the Committee, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CBC made a 4.3 brief opening statement.

He focused on the following areas:  CBC is a creature of statute as articulated in the Municipal Corporation Act No.

21 of 1990.
21 of 1990.

It consists of eight (8) electoral districts, a geographical land mass of 115 square miles and a population of 100,000 persons.

 CBC is guided under the Public Service Commission (PSC) whereas other Regional Corporations are under Statutory Authorities’ Service Commission (SASC).

 Performance is measured by the volume of the roadways and drain clearing to highlight a few.

 Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) allocation increased from 8.4 million in 2009 to $18.7 million 2011/2012.
 Recurring expenditure has increased from $67 million in 2009 to $71 million 2011/2012.

 The implementation rate of PSIP programmes is approximately 98%.

 In 2010 tendering practices were opened up.

In accordance with the Financial Regulations approximately 300 contractors have been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for registration.

 Achievements of the CBC include the expansion of the fleet of vehicles and the construction of the new administrative complex.
 Although income can be generated by charging fees for services, this is a disincentive to the Corporation, because government subvention of $71 million is reduced based on the amount of income generated internally.

 Officials proposed:  A shift from annual to quarterly releases due to the tedious process to acquire funding and improve delivery of services.

 Rate and taxes should either be kept entirely or a portion by the corporation.
 A Municipal Corporation Court should be established to deal with breaches against the Municipal Corporation Act.

 The Corporation should go directly to the Ministry of Finance for approvals with respect to virement, releases and the budget requests.

Upon further request, His Worship the Mayor of Chaguanas informed the Committee of 4.4 the following:  A good working relationship exists between the council and the administration.

 Each councillor has an office in which to serve his/her constituents.
 Councillors have received exemption for vehicles.

The issues which were brought to the Officials of the CBC’s attention by Members of the 4.5 Committee and responses which emanated are detailed hereunder: (i) Building Applications With respect to building applications, officials conveyed that there should be no outstanding applications in the Building Inspector Department because when the drawings received by the department are processed and either deferred or recommended for approval within 14 days.
27 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (ii) Remuneration of Council Members Remuneration to council members had increased from $956,410 in 2009 to $1,019,996 in 2010 due to a slight increase in the rate payable.
(iii) Payments to NIS and Group Health Insurance Officials attributed the decline of employees as the reason for the decline in National Insurance (NIS) contributions from $2,430,899 in 2009 to $2,110,711 in 2010.

No information was forthcoming with respect to the increased group health insurance from $158,695 to $169,434 for the same period.

(iv) SWOT Analysis – Threats Officials stated that supervision is a major deterrent to enhancing productivity.
The local government system does not lend itself to high levels of productivity.

New officers employed by the Corporation within the last 16 to 18 months have brought a dimension of expertise and are expected to chart the course toward improving productivity.

A SWOT analysis revealed that there is a small alcoholism problem among workers within the Corporation.
(v) The Personal and Human Resource Committee The Personal Committee can develop the policies and the practices, however, does not have the capacity to roll out policy decisions.

Currently there is a Clerk IV position on the establishment who functions as the Personal Industrial Relations Officer; however, the Corporation does not have the services of a Personal Industrial Relations Officer.
(vi) Disaster Preparedness The Corporation is in constant communication and coordination with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, the Defence Force, the police and the fire service.

In addition, there is constant training with these agencies.

An evacuation plan for Chaguanas Borough Corporation is being developed.

(vii) Traffic Disturbance Traffic congestion is not only specific to the Chaguanas Main Road but throughout the Borough.
To combat the traffic problem, land was acquired from the Ministry of Health and booths erected for use by vendors.

28 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Recently, 25 Traffic Wardens were strategically placed on the Chaguanas Main Road to control the flow of traffic.

A road has been added to alleviate traffic on the Chaguanas Main Road.

Ramsaran Street is being widened to allow for more traffic.
(viii) Municipal Police At present there are 20 Municipal Police officers in the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

This has resulted in problems with regards to performance and effectiveness of the Municipal Police.

The existing compliment of 14 officers inclusive of one Inspector, one Sergeant, two Corporals and 10 Constables is insufficient to meet the needs of the Corporation.
The Committee was informed that the recruitment of the Municipal Police is under the purview of the Public Service Commission and the Director of Personnel Administration (DPA).

The Corporation utilized funding under security to hire 15 Special Reserved Police officers (SRPs) to support the existing six municipal police officers.

This however was undertaken in conjunction with the police adjutant who supplies the SRPs.
Discussions held with the Minister and Parliament Secretary revealed that efforts are being made to alleviate this problem.

Further, Municipal Police Officers are demotivated due to exclusion from the receipt of the special allowance of $1,000 given by Government to members of the police service.

(ix) Egypt Trace Settlement With respect to Egypt Settlement, officials conveyed that there is Egypt Trace and Egypt Street extension and a Community within the area.
However, at this point the Corporation has not seen the need to separate the communities.

This decision is based on some engineering consideration together with the involvement of Town and Country Planning Division.

(x) Implementation Rate of the Strategic Plan 2009-2011 The Strategic Plan is now being reviewed.

Approximately 60 per cent of the Plan has been achieved.

The Corporation is currently in the process of carrying out a review to 2015.
This process is being undertaken in collaboration with members of the Corporation and NGOs for a three to four year period.

(xi) Implementation of the Dangerous Dogs Act In a meeting of Mayors and Chairmen it was realized that the implementation of the Dangerous Dogs Act requires training for those who would be responsible for holding pitbull dogs, the need for qualified doctors, the building of large kennels and other resources necessary for the effective execution of the Act.
29 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission A Committee was appointed and a report outlining the requirements for proper implementation of the Act is being prepared for submission to the CEO.

The pitbull dog population in Chaguanas is estimated at over one hundred (100).

(Meeting suspended at 11:02 a.m. and CBC Officials exited the J. Hamilton Maurice Room) (Meeting resumed at 11:04a.m.
with CTTRC Officials) DISCUSSIONS WITH THE OFFICIALS OF COUVA/TABAQUITE TALPARO REGIONAL CORPORATION The Vice-Chairman welcomed officials of the Couva/Tabaquite Talparo Regional 5.1 Corporation (CTTRC).

On request of the Committee, the Chairman of the CTTRC made opening remarks on the 5.2 following areas:  The Chairman and Acting CEO have been in these positions from August 2010 and three (3) weeks ago respectively.
 There were difficulties in getting certain documents prepared that were requested by the Committee.

The pertinent issues raised by Members of the Committee and responses which emanated 5.3 from discussions with the Officials of the CTTRC are detailed hereunder: (i) Challenges Officials conveyed that there are implementation problems for fiscal year action plans due to administration problems.

On December 14, 2011 the council moved a no confidence motion in the past CEO.
This was due to the non-implementation of resolutions passed by the council and the vetoing of council resolutions by the former CEO.

This created problems in delivery when resolutions were not implemented.

Since December 14, 2011 the CEO has not attended any special statutory meetings.

Another challenge is that the Act is not clear on the functions of chief officers in relation to the CEO.
Further, the council has no control and power to discipline the CEO because he can only be disciplined by the Public Service Commission regardless of the complaints of the council.

(ii) Work There are many decisions under the purview of the council that do not require finances such as traffic arrangements.

(iii) Impact of the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited Prior to the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited in August 2003 large tracks of land were under sugarcane cultivation.
Caroni would maintain access roads and drainage.

Since its closure, these roads, bridges, access roads and drains have been vested with the Corporation without the commensurate increase in finances to carry out these functions.
30 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission This has also created health issues because the abandoned lands led to increased mosquito breeding and the Caroni region has one the highest incidents of dengue.

Further, the drainage issue has caused flooding.

(iv) Impact of increased housing Erection of houses by Housing Development Corporation (HDC) within the region has increased over the past twenty (20) years.
This has led to increased demand for garbage collection and drainage and the Corporation has not received significant increased finances to address these issues.

(v) Proposed Solutions There is a need to bridge the gap between the council and administration.

There is the challenge of the actual release of goods and services which impacted when purchases can be made and suppliers paid.

There is need for technological inputs and equipment such as vehicles.
5.4 The Vice-Chairman invited officials of the CTTRC to put the issues discussed in writing.

ADJOURNMENT 6.1 The adjournment was taken at 11:32 a.m.

I certify that these Minutes are true and correct.

Sgd.

Chairman Sgd.
Secretary May 25, 2012 31 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 3 Notes of the Proceedings 33 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission MEETING HELD IN THE ARNOLD THOMASOS ROOM (WEST), LEVEL 6 AND J. HAMILTON MAURICE ROOM, MEZZANINE FLOOR, TOWER D, THE PORT OF SPAIN INTERNATIONAL WATERFRONT CENTRE, 1A WRIGHTSON ROAD, PORT OF SPAIN, ON FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012 AT 10:00 A.M. Mr. Elton Prescott SC Brig.
John Sandy Mr. Chandresh Sharma Mrs. Joanne Thomas Miss Shamfa Cudjoe Mrs. Vernella Alleyne-Toppin Mr. Devant Maharaj Mr. Rodger Samuel Mrs. Jacqueline Phillip-Stoute Miss Candice Skerrette Miss Indira Binda Mr. Subhas Ramkhelawan Mr. David Abdulah Mr. Prakash Ramadhar Miss Marlene McDonald PRESENT Vice-Chairman Member Member Member Member Member Member Member ABSENT Secretary Asst.
Secretary Graduate Research Assistant Chairman (Excused) Member (Excused) Member (Excused) Member OFFICIALS FROM CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION Mr. Ashmead Mohammed Ms. Jemma Davis Mr. Orlando Nagessar Mr. Gulab Maraj Mr. Boniface Ogama Mr. Ranjit Persad Mr. David Brijmohan Mr. Roddy Beharry Mr. Andrew Bereaux Ms. Joan Harrison Mr. Andrew Ramnarace Chief Executive Officer Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mayor Financial Officer Engineer County Superintendent Ag.
Police Inspector Planning Officer Building Inspector II Public Health Inspector III Ag.

Accountant II 10.00 a.m.: Meeting resumed in the J. Hamilton Maurice, Mezzanine Floor.

35 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Mr. Chairman: May I firstly welcome the members of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.
This is the meeting of the Joint Select Committee, the fifteenth meeting, appointed to enquire into and report to Parliament on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

Today, we are pleased to have with us the Members of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation with the CEO Mr. Ashmead Mohammed and his team.

Perhaps, I shall identify the Mayor, Mr. Orlando Nagessar; your worship welcome.
I would introduce myself for the purpose of the record, and ask members of the Joint Select Committee to introduce themselves and then subsequently I would invite you, Mr. Chief Executive Officer, to do the same among your team, and then we would address the formal parts of the proceedings.

My name is Elton Prescott.

I am the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Select Committee and, perhaps, I could start on this side.
[Members of the Committee introduced themselves] Mr. Mohammed: Good morning and on behalf of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, I want to say it is a privilege to be here this morning.

I am Mr. Ashmead Mohammed the Chief Executive Officer of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation and I will ask my members to identify themselves.

Mr. Chairman: Thank you very much for coming out this morning and braving the weather and the traffic.
In the usual approach to these meetings we invite the Chief Executive Officer to open the batting if you like by giving us a brief overview of the work of his corporation, its mandate, and those matters which, from their reports, he may wish to have highlighted at this session.

We have before us reports received from the corporation over the years 2009 to 2011, so that we are familiar with what they said in them and so, I imagine are you.
Now would be a good opportunity, Mr. Mohammed, for you to give us your opening remarks.

Mr. Mohammed: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The Chaguanas Borough Corporation is a creature of statute as articulated in the Municipal Corporation Act, No.

21 of 1990 and all its attendant amendments.

The corporation consists of eight electoral districts.

The geographical land mass is 115 square miles with a population of 100,000 persons.
The region is a highly economic area in terms of sprawling businesses to agricultural estates.

It still maintains that historical linkage with the agricultural sector.

It was proclaimed as a borough, I said, in 1990.

And it is moving smoothly to transition itself as the next city.
There is one small dilemma with the corporation in that while all the other cities and boroughs are provided for and guided under the Statutory Authorities Service Commissions Act (SASC), Chaguanas along with the other nine regional corporations are still represented under the Public Service Commission.

And that in itself possesses some challenges that we may articulate later.
36 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission The corporation over the last few years has engaged in a rigorous exercise of servicing those 100,000 burgesses.

Whether it is mandated as in the Act under infrastructure, road development, flood alleviation, provision of recreational services—which are really our core functions—but we have moved away from what we call the hard issues to really some people issues.
Because we have engaged in the borough on a number of people issues and community development, in terms of cultural aspects which might not be the real meat of the Municipal Corporation Act, but what we value as the social fabric and the social development of the community, and by extension the region, because we value human resources more than, probably, the construction of roads and what have you.

The council has developed that thrust as its mantra.
We can only measure ourselves by the hard facts because that is an intangible, it is difficult to measure, but it is there.

So we measure ourselves by the volume of the roadways, drain clearing, and those that we call the hard issues that are easily measurable.

We have moved from a PSIP allocation in 2009 of $8.4 million to 2011-2012 to $18.7 which is upwards of 150 per cent.

We have moved from recurrent services of $67 million to $71 million over the same period.
What has also been a tremendous success is that we have now moved our implementation rate of our PSIP programmes to upward of 98 per cent; which is a very, very laudable achievement.

Our recurrent services, we continue to provide the maintenance and in recurrent services to the burgesses, again, utilizing all our resources.

Maybe we are one of the few corporations that do not have surpluses or what is commonly referred to as unspent balances.

We do not really possess much of that.


We were also very, very happy that section 36(1) of the Municipal Corporation Act, that is, the provision of the chief officers which was so long outstanding, since the promulgation of the Act in 1990, has now been provided for us.

All corporations, I know, have on staff, engineers, financial officers, doctors and corporate secretaries; we have that.

All right, although, we still have a shortfall in one area.
What has been a significant achievement for us is “the opening up of the tendering practices.” Since 2010, we have registered 315—around there—to approximately 300 contractors which have been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for registration in accordance with the financial regulations as small or petty contractors.

When these contractors are registered, what we do now is place the PSIP programme in the public domain and we advertise it in the media for all registered and approved contractors.
And when we talk about registered and approved, we say those that are registered by the borough and approved by the Ministry of Finance.

We have also attached now a small administrative fee to cover obviously the overhead costs in such an exercise.

But we have opened up that significantly.


What we have also done—some other performance indicators is that since we have brought on board we are now in the process of bringing forward all “the backlog of issues” that 37 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission remained challenging to the corporation.
With the help of the engineer, the financial officer and the other chief officers, we are now moving towards bringing the borough on par.

While we have achieved a lot, there is still a lot to be achieved.

Another critical achievement is what we call fleet acquisition.

We have moved away from the norm of acquiring a number of SUVs and what we call “drive about vehicles”.

Under our thrust to acquire vehicles, we have acquired significant vehicles for the work of the people.
We have acquired the purchase of an excavator, bobcat, a heavy roller, those large dump trucks, graders and a host of what we call requisite vehicles, in order to do the work of the borough.

Our fleet has expanded significantly.

We have, I think, the largest workshop in the entire 14 regions.

Another significant attainment over this period would be the construction of the new administrative complex.

In fact, now that has been used as a model for the other 13 regions.
We are the only corporation, municipality that has an administrative complex.

It is soon to be furnished within the next couple of months and the entire staff is anticipated to be housed before the end of the financial year.

While we have all those good things, there are some little concerns we have; it comes from financing.
Corporations are financed by Government’s subventions, fees and the raising of loans subject to ministerial approval—I do not think anyone has gone into the realm of the third area, and that is raising of loans.
But what we have consistently argued for is that we feel we can generate some income at the regions—well at Chaguanas—by charging fees for our recreation grounds—for all services that we afford—but when we raise fees it is a disincentive, because under our allocation of $71 million, if we raise 10 million as fees the Government subvention would be $61, we get nothing extra, so there is no incentive.
What we are saying, is give us the $71 million as Government subvention and whatever fees we raise allow us to keep that to drive our infrastructural works, we have been begging for that.

It is an area we need to look at.

Also, Parliament approves an annual allocation, what we are asking for is what we call block releases.

Either transfer those allocations into our coffers at the beginning of the financial year, or give it to us over quarterly installments.
But we want some assurance of receiving that fund.

When we have to go through the process, while we are not trying to circumvent, or try any “backdoor arrangements”, the tedious process of going to the Ministry of Finance stymies and sometimes blocks our performance and our delivery schedule, because we have to go through the long process to acquire the funds that are there for us.

So, we feel that block releases, in some significant way, would alleviate and allow us to deliver faster.
We also have some incentives to create self-sufficiency.

Something has to be done about rates and taxes.

Either give it back to us in total and we keep the money, obviously, or some portion or some ratio must be worked out where we can charge rates and taxes, and do assessments of our properties within the confines of the borough, and keep a portion of the funding.
We want to look at when we do fees for infrastructural work—and that is like the 38 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission recreation grounds I said, we want to keep that money.

What we want to see—[Interruption] Mr. Chairman: May I enquire?

Do you have a long list of those?

Because the Minister of Local Government happens to be a member of this committee and I am sure he might want to address each of them.
Is this something that can be prepared for him at some time?

Mr. Mohammed: Well, even before the current Minster of Local Government we have been asking for these things.

Mr. Chairman: Well, let us see if he could have a copy at some stage.

Mr. Mohammed: We want to say also, it may not be feasible to have it for Chaguanas alone, but it is time that we have the establishment of a municipal corporation court.
So, fines and all of that—we can charge, for those breaches against the Municipal Corporation Act.

Whatever income is generated in terms of fines, or charges, or levies that can come back to the borough.

Those are the things how we can create a measure of self-sufficiency.

Obviously, we know it cannot take care of all our needs, but we can become less dependent on Central Government.
There are some little concerns in that we feel it is time that the corporation goes directly to the Ministry of Finance for some of our approval for issues like virement, releases and, generally, our budget request.

I believe we can go there and speed up the process.

Obviously, given our great implementation rate recently, we still feel that Chaguanas can have greater sums allocated under the PSIP Programme.

Mr. Chairman, that is what I have to say in the opening.
Mr. Chairman: Thank you very much, Mr. Mohammed.

Is there any other member of your organization, at this time, who would like to say something, if not, I would go directly to questions from my own membership?

Mr. Nagessar: Just one point I would like to make here.

What the CEO has reiterated there is actually a consensus with the council.

We have a very, very, good working relationship with the council and administration and we always work with a consensus.
We recognize that Chaguanas is the fastest growing town in the country.

As the CEO mentioned, sometimes the demands are less than the resources available, and this is by no means only Chaguanas, but it is throughout.

I must say also that we have a very good working relationship with the Minister of Local Government who visits the corporation regularly, and find out what are some of our problems and so on, and where possible is able to extend his helping hand.
As members of the council, we are very, very, fortunate in acquiring certain amenities to make the council a little happier.

The CEO spoke of the new administrative building.

Each councillor now has an office in which to serve his or her constituents, and I think this is a plus for the council and for local government in general.

Councillors have also received exemption for vehicles, and for the first time this has also come to a reality, and we have been striving for this for a long, long time.
Right now, councillors are very busy trying to get their loans and so on to acquire a vehicle.

There is one other factor, and probably as we go on, we will bring it to bear.

The point I want to make is that there is a very good working relationship between the council and administration with all members.
There is COP representative on the council and one PNM representative and 39 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission we have a very close working relationship.

Mr. Chairman: Thank you very much, your Worship.


Members of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, our mandate is to address questions of the efficiency and effectiveness of the corporation, and your CEO has given us a sufficiently wide-ranging area of investigation, if you like, we can address it today.
So, I would now invite Members of this Committee to indicate their interest in raising certain questions with you and, Mr. Mohammed, where you think there is a member who has specific expertise and should address any particular question, feel free to identify that person.

Thank you very much.

Ms. Thomas: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. CEO, I was just going through the Administrative Report for 2009/2010, and I just want to ask two questions.
The first is on page 18, the responsibilities of the Building Inspector.

I noticed that of the 394 building application received, there are 282 building applications outstanding.

Now, I know this is the 2010 report.

Do you have an update, now that we are in 2012?

Has this figure reduced since this impact on the burgesses significantly as regard to persons wanting to have their own homes?
If I could just go to the Financial Report for October 2009—September 2010 on page 4, I look, for example, at remuneration to council members.

In 2009, we are looking at $956,000 and in 2010 $1,019,000.

Now, I know there was Local Government Election in 2010, so I am looking at the reason.

Was it that the council was increased and that accounted for that increased in the remuneration to council members?
Also we look at the Government contributions to NIS and you see a reduction by almost 300,000 in 2009, and then now you look at the group health which has been increased.

So some of the figures suggest an increased in staff, and yet when you look at NIS there is a reduction in NIS, and I do not think the NIS contribution was reduced by the Government in the budget to allow for such drastic reduction in NIS, but yet the Health Insurance increased, and the remuneration to council members also increased.
I mean, it is not a significant increase in the council members, because you are looking at roughly about $70,000, but what was responsible for that increase?

I believe council members’ salaries remain the same.

So, if I could just get a little example on that, and also an update on the building applications, if that figure has been reduced.

Thank you.

.

Mr. Mohammed: I would ask the Building Inspector to respond on the outstanding applications, and he would be followed by the Financial Officer.
Mr. Bereaux: Good morning.

With respect to the applications that are outstanding, first I would say that I was transferred from the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, and in May 2011 I went to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

These figures here reflect what was previous to me being there.
How I understand it, and over the years in doing this job, I could safely state that there should not be any outstanding applications in a Building Inspector’s Department in that when the drawings are received by the department, once it is processed, it is either deferred if it is not up to standard or recommended for approval.
Now, I do not know what was the approach used by the previous Building Inspector, so 40 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission to say that you have outstanding applications it means that building plans are lingering in your office which should not have happened.
I am not putting any blame on anyone, but how I know it is that the drawings come into your office, and you have at least 14 days to process them and when that is done, those are deferred, the applicants are written to and those that are approved, the same thing would take place.

With respect to, as you say, the outstanding amount that has been reduced, there are no outstanding drawings in the office at present.

The drawings are either processed for approval or deferred.
The drawings that are deferred are waiting on the applicants to respond to them.

Some people respond in a timely fashion and some people take a rather long time to respond to the correspondence which is sent out to them.

Mr. Maraj: With respect to the remuneration to council members, I am advised that there was a slight increase in the rate payable and that is what accounts for the difference.
As regard the contribution to NIS, I have noticed a tendency toward a decline in the number of persons being employed.

I may stand corrected on that, as I would not have been around at that time.

Currently, for example, of which I am aware, the rate would be approximately $2.3 million to $2.4 million per annum, and this takes into account the last two or three years during which time the NIB’s rates have increased.
So the only reason for that is that there has been some kind of decline in the manpower level.

I do not have more information.

Now, as regard the group health, I do not have any information on the increase, I will have to check.

Thank you.

Ms. Thomas: Okay, thank you.


Mr. Chairman, if I could just ask one last question before I go, I was looking at the Strategic Plan, and at page—it is not quite visible here—but the threats to the success of the corporation and all its planned goals, I see some really quite frightening threats.
You look at things like poor worker productivity; deficiencies in the quality of supervision; lack of expertise technically and otherwise, and to me these things could hamper the kind of corporation you all are looking to become.

What I did not see in the report are projects and so forth put in place to address these things.
I know a critical problem that is experienced by most corporations is poor worker productivity, but the lack of expertise and the deficiency in the quality of supervision, you put that to the managing of a company and it is really frightening.

This stood out to me, and I just wanted to know if there are things being put in place to address these threats, because we do not want things like these to hamper you all moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.


Mr. Samuel: Mr. Chairman, before they answer the question, I have some things to talk about on that very, said page.

I recognize on that page you had alcoholism, and I am troubled when I read on page 23 that a threat to your success is alcoholism in the Borough.

I find it a very, very, strange thing to fit in there.

Are people coming to work drunk or do we have a lot of alcoholics in the corporation working?

When I saw that on page 23 I was quite concerned about that.
If that is the case and if that is a threat, it means that it is something that you have picked up and it is significantly visible in the corporation.
If that is the case, what has been done or what 41 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission programmes of development has been put in place to help people overcome this threat and help the borough to overcome the threats listed with regard to alcoholism, and, as my colleague says, weak administrative leadership and all of the other things that you have as threats to your success?
I know for a fact part of your plan was to deal with specifics later down with regard to development, I would like to know what has been achieved thus far, and how you have been able in your development plans and training to alleviate some of the threats during 2009—2011.

Mr. Mohammed: I will attempt the answer.

The response would be an amalgam of the two questions.
As I said, in my opening statement, it is only in the last 16 to 18 months the corporations, and not only Chaguanas Borough Corporation, has been provided with those chief officers identified in section 36(1) of the Municipal Corporation Act.

Prior to that, corporations operated with a CEO and middle management support.

So, clearly, it has also been and continues to be supervision.
While we acknowledged that supervision is a major deterrent to enhancing productivity, what you have is that the whole system of upward mobility in the local government system has not lent itself to achieving great levels of productivity.

These new officers who have come on board bring to the corporation an added dimension and added expertise, because the financial officer, for example, is a trained account, the engineer is a trained engineer.
So what we are saying is that these people, since they have come on board—and you have to understand only recently they have come on board— obviously, it is not going to be an overnight success, but it is anticipated that they would lend and chart the course forward to improving output productivity, but productivity alone cannot be from supervision.
Mr. Mohammed: The promulgation of the Act in 1990—the Municipal Corporations Act—was followed in 1994, by a Cabinet appointed committee, which is commonly referred to as the Soogrim Report, and the Soogrim Report spoke about all the necessary supervisors, and I will give you an example.
We have on board four technical officers, we have a county superintendent, who really is an office-based job, while he may be classified as a field officer, and you have three officers under him, to supervise close to 600 daily rated employees; now that is humanly impossible.

What is clearly needed is obviously, as the scalar chain, and all those management philosophies speak to the one to 10 ratio, something like that has to be developed.
But it is impossible and impracticable for three officers to supervise close to 600 people, and get the work done.

You cannot police the 600 employees out there.


In addition to issues of low productivity, what the corporation really requires is that we— the only human resource specialist we have, and we do not even have it in Chaguanas, is what we recall the personnel industrial relations officer, but there is need for human resource management functions at the region, and again that should have been there since 1990.

There is an absence of human resource functions out there, there are no positions.
Every Ministry, every Government office, all over, every private sector, you need the human resource experts.
And the human resource experts would have taken care of the other question, where you have chronic 42 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission alcoholism and drug use or whatever, is that they would have maintained and operated the counselling and the EAP, all those support services under the HR function, and they would have designed adequate training programmes to improve productivity, and all the attendant HR issues.
That is holding back the region as it seeks to move forward.

Mr. Nagessar: Just further to the explanation, Member Rodger Samuel raised the question about alcoholism.

Please note that this is not a trend throughout, it is here and there.

This strategic plan was produced by all the senior officers coming together and under the SWOT analysis they identified that as probably being a little problem among the workers, so it is not a common or rampant thing across the board.
What we have done, I know, it came to council, and we have referred a few of them for counselling, those who we found to be addicted and so on.

So it is a few within the corporation who we have found to be alcoholics as you mentioned.

Ms. Thomas: Just a follow up question to Mr. Mohammed.
You spoke about the lack of a proper human resource management activity there in the corporation, would you then, in your opinion, be saying that in the absence of that, the personnel and human resource committee may be a bit ineffective because in the absence of an operating HR in the corporation it would be understood that that committee would, in some way, take up the slack, and assist with the operations of the corporation.
Is it then your opinion that may be they may not be as effective as you as CEO, would like them to be?

Mr. Mohammed: It could never be said that anyone of the standing committees is ineffective.

The standing committees—and one of the standing committees is the personnel committee, as you alluded to, they can develop the policies and the practices, the issue here is there is an absence of the requisite human capacity to implement.
As I have said, we have a Clerk IV position on the establishment who functions as the personnel and industrial relations officer, and again we must go back to it historically.

In 1990 there were seven county councils, and seven county councils each had a personnel industrial relations officer.

1990, 10 regions were formed, seven cannot go into 10, seven human beings cannot go into 10.
There are three corporations, at this existing moment, which do not possess the services of that specialist function—the personnel industrial relations officer.

I can say, we know for a fact that Chaguanas is one, and off the top of my head I cannot say which are the other two, but there would always be at any given point three corporations which do not have those positions.
So when you come back to say that the committee is ineffective, no, in fact, the committee is doing fantastic work, in terms of the occupational health and safety, but we do not have the capacity to roll out those policy decisions.

The corporation, and as I said in the opening statement, we need additional staffing, the capacity is not there to do all our work.

Brig.
Sandy: Thank you, Chair, through you I have one observation and two questions, and I invite your attention to page 19 of your strategic plan 2009/2011, where you speak about disaster preparedness, and my observation is, there is no mention of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, which is the principal disaster management agency in Trinidad, and I thought that there ought to be—I know that there is collaboration with all municipal corporations, so I 43 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission thought it would have been mentioned there.
I invite your attention to page 39, under the subheading, “Consider the main road becoming a pedestrian shopping area without traffic disturbance during key shopping hours.” I think we all know that Chaguanas, particularly that main road, is one of the most challenging with respect to traffic.

So I would like for the edification of the committee to hear how you propose to do that.
And finally, page 55, where you spoke about your performance—let me see if I got that right—municipal police, 54 into 55, and you speak of your performance review, well, it should have been implemented in 2008, but I would like it if you can briefly identify some of the key findings and recommendations with respect to that performance review?

Thank you.
Thank you.

Mr. Mohammed: I will pass the first question—the traffic question—to the Mayor, who has lots to speak about that, and the municipal police question would be directed to the Inspector, and the Engineer would comment on the disaster management observation.

Mr. Nagessar: You are quite right Brigadier as regards traffic congestion, not only on the Chaguanas Main Road, but it is throughout the borough, there is a problem with traffic, but specifically the Chaguanas Main Road.
I think we are the only corporation that has removed street vendors from the street that was causing a mass back-up of traffic.
Actually they occupied one lane on that Chaguanas Main Road, and we were able to acquire three acres of land from the Ministry of Health, in the heart of Chaguanas, where the old health facility was, and we have tractored and cleared the place and put up 250 booths, where we have removed the vendors from the street onto the—we call the Vendors Mall, and that has eased up the traffic a lot.
Added to this, we recently got 25 traffic wardens, and we have placed them at strategic spots, on that Chaguanas Main Road, to get vehicles/traffic moving faster and quicker.

We have also added a road to get traffic out of the Chaguanas Main Road into the Edinburgh 500, if you know the geography.

So, instead of coming on the Chaguanas Main Road they go into the 500 from Longdenville, and get onto the highway—the Solomon Hochoy Highway.
So that has taken a bulk of traffic—all the 500—500 is now 5,000 or 10,000, there are no longer 500 houses there.

So, all the traffic from 500 now go into that boulevard onto the highway.

So, we are looking it, it is still challenging because more and more cars are coming onto the road, but together with the Ministry of Works, and traffic management, we have plans to reduce the traffic problem within the context of the borough.

Brig.
Brig.

Sandy: Do you not think that attempting to pedestrianize, if I can use that word, the main road would add to the traffic congestion, particularly during peak hours?

Mr. Nagessar: What we have done, I am glad that you raised that too, there is a parallel road to the Chaguanas Main Road, the Ramsaran Street, I do not know if you know that street?

Right now we are widening that street.


It is 30 feet wide, we will make it 60 feet, and that street actually would be taking a lot of traffic from the Chaguanas Main Road through the Ramsaran— it is parallel street.

44 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission The aim, actually on the plan, we have mentioned that we would be making a pedestrian, as you have mentioned, pedestrianized walkway.
It is still on the plan, but it is not cast in concrete.

If we see that that will cause a problem, actually we have to rethink it, but right now we are developing Ramsaran Street; as we speak, work is going on on that street to widen the Ramsaran Street to allow more traffic—four lanes, actually—to move the traffic, to allow for this pedestrian walkway.

Mr. Chairman: You have identified some of this to the Minister.
Mr. Brijmohan: Yes, Mr. Chairman, as it relates to the relationship between the municipal police and the office of the Mayor, I must say that I came into Chaguanas as of January 03, this year, and so far, as far I know, our relationship is very cordial and professional thus far.
As it relates to the responsibilities to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, and the implementation, so long as council implement and their contributions are lawful, the police would act accordingly in collaboration with the Chief Executive Office to whom I would report, so we will work from there.

The council makes the decision, it passes down through the CEO, and as I have said, as so long as they are lawful within the parameters of law, the police do its part.
Mr. Chairman: Inspector Brijmohan, I got the impression that the Senator, Brig.

Sandy was speaking to the question of a performance review of the municipal police, and enquiring as to the status of that review, do you have any knowledge of what has been transpiring?

Mr. Brijmohan: No, Sir, I do not.

Mr. Nagessar: To add to the municipal police, since I came into office in 1999, we have been clamoring, clamoring, begging for an increase in the number of officers attached to that municipal corporation.
When I came there we had four, they called them estate police, now they have moved into the municipal police.

Our compliment at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation would be 54 officers, we have about 20, and that is causing some problem as regards the performance of the police, within the context of the corporation, and the responsibilities they have.
I do not know if the Minister Sandy is aware of this, I brought this to the attention of the Commissioner of Police, and the answer is always, “they are in training, they are training, and they would soon be provided with police”, but that is actually a hindrance to effectiveness as regards the performance of the police; few officers and plenty work.

The other aspect of it, Minister Brig.

Sandy, two years now the police have applied for ammunition, and I believe we have paid for it, and there was a delay.
Actually what is the cause of it, I understand, as the CEO has just told me, last week they got the approval, so thanks for that.

Mr. Chairman: Well, that is good news.

Brig.

Sandy: I could assume, therefore, that those are some the key findings and the recommendations that I asked about.

But tell me, what confines the borough from doing recruitment of police officers?

Mr. Mohammed: The municipal police service was established by a Cabinet Minute—that really does not come to mind.
45 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Mr. Mohammed: The complement of officers—Chaguanas and the nine other regional corporations comprising 10—was supposed to have on its staff, one Inspector, one Sergeant, two Corporals and 10 Constables, which meant a complement of 14; which was, up to this date, still insufficient to meet our needs.
But in reality, and not only Chaguanas, but in all the regions, if we have six or seven of the municipal police we have plenty.

What we have done with Chaguanas is that we have used the funding under security to hire SRPs—how many we have, 19?

[Interruption] We have 15 SRPs to lend support to the other five or six municipal police.

We have done that in conjunction with the police adjutant who supplies us with the SRPs.

The numbers are insufficient.


I know through discussions in meeting with the Minister and the Permanent Secretary, they are making a lot of efforts in order to try to alleviate and ameliorate that problem.

But that 14-member complement per regional corporation was on the books, that cabinet note has been around for a number of years, and again to say, we were always under—well, local government reform, and it just was kept in abeyance.
But have had to find some measure, and it has impacted negatively on our funding situation that our security assets and the valuables of the corporation.

Brig.

Sandy: Yes, but you are saying of the 14 you have seven, what restrains you from recruiting that additional seven?

Mr. Mohammed: The recruitment of the municipal police is an exercise of the Public Service Commission, the DPA.

They have to hire the officers and send them to us, that is how we get our municipal police, through the DPA.

Brig.
Brig.

Sandy: Yes, but that being said is it then that you have made efforts to have them recruited and you are waiting on the DPA?

Mr. Mohammed: Our recruitment process is that we get our staffing through the Ministry of Local Government, the head office as we want to say.

So, when we have deficiencies in staffing we write the head office and tell them, “a”, “b” and “c” we need.

It is now for the head office to secure that service from the Service Commissions Department in terms of monthly-paid staff.
What I said we did is a creative measure going and liaising directly with the corporation and liaising directly with the police adjutant in order to secure the services of about 15-odd Special Reserve Policemen to supplement our existing force.

Brig.

Sandy: Could it be fair to assume, therefore, that you have provided the Ministry of Local Government with those recommendations?

Mr. Mohammed: “Yeah, yeah.

That was long, long time ago”.

Mr. Nagessar: Since Brig.


Sandy is on the floor, I brought this complaint already, since the normal police officers have received an allocation of $1,000; I believe, municipal police are excluded from that.
They came to us several times complaining—I do not know, I understand they went to court and so on, I do not know how far that has reached, but they are sort of demotivated in a sense knowing that they are doing the same work with the normal police officers and they are not considered for that special allocation that was given by the Government.
46 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Mr. Vice-Chairman: May I just remind you about your ODPM question, has it been addressed?

Not ODPM, disaster preparedness, but perhaps you might want to put it again.

Brig.
Brig.

Sandy: Page 19, that was an observation that the Office of the Disaster Preparedness and Management was not mentioned, and as I said knew there is that relationship with the municipal corporations—and while it was not a question it was an observation.
Mr. Ogama: Through the Chairman, whereas it has not been mentioned, we are in constant communication and coordination with the ODPM, together with the Defence Force as well as the police and the fire service, in addition to that we are constantly having training with the same forces and we are presently establishing an evacuation plan for Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

There are only two evacuation plans for the 14 regional corporations that are effective in the country.
At least Chaguanas is implementing that evacuation plan, and we have constant training with the other agencies including ODPM.

Mr. Vice-Chairman: Thank you Mr. Ogama.

Do any of the Members on my right have any questions for the corporation?

The Minister of Local Government, are you familiar with all that is going on in the corporation or would you like to ask a question?

Mr. Sharma: I am very impressed with the corporation.
Mr. Vice-Chairman: Mr. CEO, may I just ask a question which comes from a member of the public, I imagine you might be familiar with it, I hope it does not embarrass you.

It is a reference to some work that needed to be done in the Egypt area to separate it from the HDC housing settlement.

Are you familiar with those housing locations?

Mr. Mohammed: Not intimately.


Mr. Vice-Chairman: Somebody has asked us to enquire—it seems as though there was need to put up a separation—is there a district called Egypt in your remit?

Mr. Mohammed: We know Egypt Trace.

Mr. Vice-Chairman: And is there a HDC housing settlement close by?

Clearly the corporation has not seen the need to separate those two.

Mr. Ogama: We have Egypt Trace and Egypt Street Extension, and a community within the same area.
At this point the corporation has not seen the need to separate the two communities.

Mr. Vice-Chairman: A decision on that is driven by what, just members of the public bringing it to your attention or there is some engineering consideration that goes into making those decisions?
Mr. Ogama: There are some engineering considerations to actually arrive at some decisions, together with the involvement of Town and Country Planning Division, and their requisite permits, and approvals are therefore necessary for such decisions to be made.

Mr. Vice-Chairman: I trust that addresses that concern.

Mr. Samuel: Mr. Chairman, through you, can you revisit your 2009—2011 strategic plan?
What aspect of this plan, what percentage of this plan can you say has been effectualized or implemented, because you are now going to be shifting into 2011/2012 or 2011—2013 plan?
Is 47 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission the new plan just going to be a cut and paste of this old plan, and a lot has not been achieved or is it that you have achieved a lot, and what type of training and developments that you have implemented for staff?
I know there is a lot in here with regard to the development and ensuring that people understand their roles, responsibilities and implementation of those things?

But to you, what percentage of this strategic plan have you implemented or effectualized, and what has not?

And what are you doing to ensure that in the future you are really effective at what you plan to do?

Mr. Nagessar: Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Samuel, you are right, the strategic plan is now being reviewed.
If you look at the administrative report probably you would have an idea of some of the achievements as regards this strategic plan.

There are some aspects of the plan that actually have not been achieved, for example, moving Chaguanas into City status.

There are some demands that are required to put us on track to City status.

One of it I can tell you is the improvement of some of the infrastructure as regards drainage and so on, to which we are attending.
But I would like to say about 60 per cent of this has been achieved and we are now in the process of review and bringing it up-to-date to 2015, actually.

The process is taking place in collaboration, not only with the members of the corporation, the counsellors and the administration, but we have also invited NGOs to be part of the planning for the next three or four years.

Mr. Vice-Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mr. CEO—pardon me, one moment please, there is a question from Miss Cudjoe.
Miss Cudjoe: This question is really for the Mayor or anybody else from the committee who can speak.

Recently in the news—I know the Chaguanas Borough Corporation had concerns about it ability and preparedness to implement the Dangerous Dogs Act which comes into effect on August 1st.

I wanted to know what were some of your concerns or some of the things that could be done within the next three months or so, up to August, to get you more prepared to deal with this on August 1st.
Mr. Nagessar: It was not the Chaguanas Borough Corporation alone, it was a meeting of Mayors and Chairmen who looked at the Act, and that Act called for a lot of resources, actually, to put it in—for example, we do not have people trained to go and hold a pit bull, and this is one of the demands of the Act; somebody does not pay his/her licence, you go to the home and—so we have to have doctors and so on who are qualified and who can be trained.
The other thing is the infrastructure, we have to build large kennels and get officers, vehicles and so on.

So, the Mayors and Chairmen felt that presently they are not trained to handle certain aspects of the implementation of the Dangerous Dogs Act, and especially there will be a need for funding to put up the necessary infrastructure as regards the implementation of this Act.

The Ministry is aware of this.

We have written giving our concerns and so on.


I am certain that if we are to implement this, the necessary human resource and the infrastructure will be put in place.

Mr. Mohammed: I just want to add to that, with the Act approaching the Chaguanas Borough Corporation created a committee.
I know they have not finished finalizing their report but I 48 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission would ask the Deputy CEO, who is the chairperson—while we do not officially have it as a formalized committee, but about four senior members of staff are working on some of the potential problems or how we are going to implement that Act—to make a few comments on it.
Ms. Davis: Presently we are preparing a report for the CEO on all that is necessary to be done for the implementation of the Act.

But, we are showing the amount of staff and the amount of kennels that would be needed roughly, and all of that.

We are doing a very detailed report to submit to the CEO.

Mr. Maharaj: Members of the Committee, I would like to congratulate you on your presentation here this morning.

Mr. Mayor, I would like to find out taking off from where Miss Cudjoe led us.
You have an idea of the number of dangerous dogs, in particular, pit bulls in the corporation?

Have there been any records—as far as you are aware of—of attacks of serious incidents regarding these animals that jeopardize the residents of Chaguanas?

Mr. Nagessar: We have not got any attacks as far as—no, no, we had one death in the Edinburgh 500, a watchman actually was mauled by four pits quite recently, so we had that.
As regards the number of pit bulls from the number of concerns we are having as regards the Act, is indication there is well over 100 pit bulls within the Chaguanas area.

Mr. Maharaj: Given the mauling to death, and the fact that you have over 100 pit bulls in Chaguanas, do you agree that this demands some sort of serious attention, given the impending implementation via proclamation of the Dangerous Dog Act?
Mr. Nagessar: If you had read our concern on the newspapers, we are not against the Dangerous Dog Act at all.

We are glad that that Act is proclaimed—very, very glad—but as I mentioned before there are certain things to be put in place before the implementation.

This is our concern.

As long as that is, we are happy.

We are very happy.

Close to where I live there is a pit bull and sometimes I am scared when it is loose.
So, we agree that there should be an Act to control these dangerous dogs, but as I mentioned before, there are certain things to be put in place.

Mr. Mohammed: What I can say is that, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, with the impending passage of that legislation, our function really is not to debate—at least the administrative in Chaguanas—whether the Act should be implemented or not implemented.

Our role and function is that when it is implemented, is to be prepared to discharge our responsibilities.
When it is implemented we will have to operationalize it, and that is why we are continuing and saying what we need and what do not need, and seeing how we can deal with it when it comes on board.

Mr. Chairman: Thank you, Mr. Mohammed.

If I may just add my piece, you may want to consider whether some kind of training or public education could form part of your remit in that regard.
Members of the committee, and members of the corporation we had allocated a fixed amount of time for dealing with matters pertaining to the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, not because it is not interesting, but primarily because we also invited and they are here, members of 49 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, and for those reasons I ought to give them the courtesy of getting some opportunity to report to us.
On behalf of the committee I appreciate you having turned up this morning in your large numbers and prepared.

It would appear from the reactions of the Members of the committee, that your reports, so far, are unremarkable, that they are satisfactory and so we are pleased to get that kind of feedback.
If there are matters that we have not been able to address today, that you feel that are of sufficiently burning interest to the relevant authorities, it might be of value to us and so you could put that to us in writing.

We look forward to the reports pertaining to the period 2011 to 2012, which I imagine are very much on the way.

We thank you most sincerely for joining us.

At this stage we wish to suspend these proceedings therefore and invite you on a subsequent occasion to report to us.
Thank you very much.

Mr. Nagessar: We will like to extend our sincerest thanks to the committee.

I am also glad to see our Minister is part of this.

We think we have brought a full delegation here to handle any query.

We expected to go on a little longer, but I am glad that you all have found satisfaction with our reports and so on.

And we are always there to present ourselves for any sort of advice and scrutiny.

I would like again to thank the committee very sincerely for having us.
Mr. Mohammed: On behalf of the administration, I want to thank the committee for affording us the opportunity here this morning.

11.02 a.m.: Meeting suspended.
(Officials from the Chaguanas Borough Corporation exits J. Hamilton Maurice Room) 50 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 4 Draft Estimates of Development Programme for the Financial Year 2010 and 2012 for the Chaguanas Borough Corporation 51 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Extracted from Draft Estimates of Development Programme for the Financial Year 2010, page 140 53 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Extracted from Draft Estimates of Development Programme for the Financial Year 2012, page 147 54 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 5 Responsibilities under the purview of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation 55 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission Responsibilities under the purview of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation The following list contains but a few of the responsibilities common to all regional corporations, under Act No.
21 of 1990 of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago:- 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.
12. the distribution of truck-borne water subject to the provisions of the Water and Sewerage Act; the provision, maintenance and control of all Corporation buildings; the maintenance and control of homes for the aged established by the Corporation; subject to any other written law, the maintenance and control of child care centers established by the Corporation; the construction and maintenance of all drains and water courses except main water-courses and highway water courses; the provision, maintenance, and control of such parks, recreation grounds, benches and other public spaces as the President may from time to time by Order prescribe; the promotion of development within the Municipality in accordance with the plans approved by the Minister with responsibility for physical planning; the maintenance of state property including – such police stations, health centers, post offices, and other government buildings as the Minister to whom responsibility for the construction and maintenance of buildings is assigned may by order determine; the maintenance, control and enhancement of the physical environment including – monitoring water courses, beaches and water front areas, swamps, forests, game sanctuaries, savannahs, parks and other open spaces; the disposal of garbage from public and private property, the development and maintenance of sanitary landfills, chemical treatment for insect and vector control, abatement of public nuisances and dissemination of information for primary health care; the development, construction, maintenance and repair of passenger bus and taxi shelters and beaches; the co-ordination of local and regional trade fairs, athletic events and cultural displays and entertainment; 13. the collection and distribution of forms issued by Departments of Government; 57 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission 14.
15. the maintenance and control of burial grounds and crematoria, subject to the provisions of the Public Burial Grounds Act and the Cremation Act; the provision, maintenance and control of public pastures and recreation grounds, subject to the provisions of the Recreation Grounds and Pastures Act; 16. such other functions as the President may from time to time by Order prescribe.
58 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 6 Organizational Chart of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation 59 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission COUNCIL DECISIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (HEAD OF ADMINISTRATI ON) DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER FINANCIAL OFFICER CORPORATE SECRETARY PRINCIPAL MEDICAL AND HEALTH OFFICER CIVIL ENGINEER MUNICIPAL POLICE INSPECTOR MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS COUNTY SUPERINTEND- ANT ADMINISTRA- TIVE OFFICER II PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTOR III PLANNING OFFICER I ACCOUNTANT II DISASTER CO- ORDINATOR ROAD OFFICER II BUILDING INSPECTOR II ADMINISTRATI VE ASSISSTANT P.I.R.O.
CESSPOOL SUPERVISOR ACCOUNTANT 1 COMMUNICA- TION FIELD OFFICERS TECHNICIAN WORKSHOP SUPERVISOR 1 ROAD OFFICER 1 TRANSPORT SUPERVISOR WORKSHOP FORMAN CLERK IV COMPLAINTS CLERK IV ACCOUNTANT ASSISTANT STOREKEEPER CLERICAL AND MANIPULATIVE STAFF 61 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO AND REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND SERVICE COMMISSIONS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE JUDICIAL AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION Appendix 7 Chaguanas Borough Corporation Accomplishments for the period October 2009 to September 2010 Recurrent Projects 63 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS WORKS SUPERVISOR Development and maintenance of recreation grounds, parks, markets, abattoirs and buildings.
Routine Maintenance of 33 Recreation Grounds Routine Maintenance of 20 Pavilions / Clubhouse Routine Maintenance of 6 Cemeteries Routine Maintenance 1 Cremation site Routine maintenance of 7 Public Buildings Upkeep of 5 Parks and Green Spaces Refurbishment of 6 Cemetery Sheds Construction of 1 Sight Screen Routine Maintenance of 3 Public Conveniences Routine Maintenance of 2 Markets Routine Maintenance of 1 Abattoir TECHNICAL - ROADS Construction and maintenance of secondary roads, bridges, traces, drains, buildings, plant and equipment.
Cleared 15884 metres of Drain throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Cutlassed 385977m square metres of grass along roadways throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Cutlassed 51000 metres of grass along the edges of roadways throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Spread 955 cubic metres of oil sand throughout the Eight Electoral Districts 65 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS Spread 725 cubic metres of guaracara material throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Spread 915 cubic metres of crushed blue limestone material throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Spread 690 tonnes of cold mix throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Cleared 500 outlets throughout the Eight Electoral Districts Installed 140m of inverts Installed 68m of cylinders Erected 100 street signs Repaired and replaced 500 manhole covers Constructed 600m box drain Constructed 8 box culverts 33562 premises were baited resulting in the use of 467 kg rodenticide.
PUBLIC HEALTH Rodent Control Public Health and environments, waste management, Insect Vector – rodent and canine control, Institution of Health and Safety & Litter Wardens.

To reduce and/or eliminate the rodent population from premises within the Borough, thereby reducing the risk of rodent-borne disease.

Canine Control a.

To remove stray dogs from public places to a dog shelter.

202 dogs and 89 pups were removed from the Borough to a dog shelter.
66 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS 67 carcasses were removed for burial.

103235m of drains were maintained.

The contents of 1 061 septic tanks were emptied and disposed at a faecal dump.

Public Cleansing Cesspool Service b.


To collect and remove carcasses.

a.

To remove silt and debris from drains to a sanitary landfill or other approved disposal site.

b.

To allow the free-flow of storm and waste water to a natural watercourse.

a.

To collect and remove faecal waste from premises within the Borough and to dispose at a faecal dump.

b.

To reduce the incidence of diseases of faecal origin as a result of filled and overflowing septic tanks and cesspits.
Insect Vector Control Service To control and eradicate dengue fever by spraying insecticidal chemical.

Total of 22,332 houses were sprayed by using ULV machines and thermal dynafoggers.

Litter Removal To collect and remove litter from the main thoroughfare of the Borough Centre using litter carts lined with garbage bags.

To remove litter from the main thoroughfare to present an enhanced and litter-free environment.

Served 350 Clean Up Orders Served 304 Litter Removal Orders Total of 654 Orders Served.
Success Rate of 95% Ordered the removal of 336 Derelict Vehicles 67 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS Scheduled Scavenging Service: Compactor, Open Tray Truck and Special Service to Poultry Shops BUILDING INSPECTOR a.
To collect and remove domestic, commercial and Special Waste to the Forres Park Landfill b.

To reduce and/or eliminate the proliferation of disease producing organisms, offensive odors and other vectors of diseases viz.

cockroaches and rodents.

Works in conjunction with Agencies inclusive of the Town and Country Planning Division in receiving requests for approvals of layouts and buildings – ensures compliance with the National Building Codes and litigates against unauthorized and dilapidated structures.
Success Rate of 100% Total of 14 Court Matters Attended 14 Court Matters with 9 Successfully Prosecuted & Charged and 3 Reprimanded & Discharged & 2 Adjourned to a later date.

5 cases presently being processed for New Court Hearing.

Removal of all waste as specified to a sanitary landfill on the scheduled scavenging days.
394 Building Applications Received 119 Building Applications Deferred 112 Building Applications Approved 282 Building Applications Outstanding 50 Sub-Division Layouts Received 13 Sub-Division Layouts Deferred 19 Sub-Division Layouts Approved 31 Sub-Division Layouts Outstanding 72 Completion Certificates Received 68 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS No Completion Certificates Deferred 72 Completion Certificate Approved No Completion Certificate Outstanding 58 Social Welfare Applications Received 50 Complaints Received 50 Complaints Investigated 14 Show Cause Notices Served TRANSPORT Custodian of Corporation’s fleet and dispatch of vehicles.
Routine maintenance, repairs and upkeep of Corporation’s fleet vehicles.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DISASTER MANAGEMENT UNIT To ensure that the relevant departments are provided with proper tools facilities and technology to perform their duties.

Respond to all disasters in the Borough of Chaguanas and preparing communities for disasters through Community Awareness programmes.

Training for data entry clerks for Computerization of Payroll inventory system.
Responded to 138 incidents of flooding in the Borough and provided temporary relief.

Completed 25 Minor Repairs and Reconstruction Grant for residents, in conjunction with Ministry of Social Welfare.

Responded to 3 families whose roof had blown off and provided tarpaulins as temporary assistance.

Setting up of a Communication VHF Radio Network the Chaguanas in Borough Corporation DMU.

Conducted 5 Community Outreach Awareness Programmes.
69 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS Programmes with Communities within the Borough regarding earthquake, hurricane and flooding.

Procurement and installation of a weather station at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation DMU.
The procurement of disaster response items and equipment e.g.

pumps, tarpaulins, pressure washers, mattresses etc.

Completed first phase of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation Emergency Operations Plan.

Worked in conjunction with the Ministry of Works and the Corporation in cleaning major watercourses within the Borough.

COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT Record and dispatch complaints from the residents and burgesses in the Borough.
996 Complaints were received 700 Complaints were addressed MUNICIPAL POLICE To ensure free flow of traffic and detect and take action for breaches of the law, reduce the commission of criminal offences, create a safe environment, establish a police presence within the environment, guarantee a sense of safety and awareness to the general public.

64 Complaints were referred to other Government Ministries.

296 Complaints on a programme of works to be addressed.
A total of 1074 traffic tickets were issued which resulted in $202,708.00 paid in fines.

A total of 267 criminal offences were detected.

A total of 168 offenders plead guilty 10 offenders received sentenced totally 66 months.

The sum of $9100 was paid to the corporation for cost.
70 7th Report of the JSC on Municipal Corporations and Service Commissions with the exception of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 RECURRENT PROJECTS DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHMENTS A total of 1092 petrol was performed.
CHAGUANAS BOROUGH CORPORATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 2009 TO SEPTEMBER 2010 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME HEAD ACCOMPLISHMENTS DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION 380m of Box Drain was constructed throughout the Borough 205m of Box Drain and slab Constructed LOCAL ROADS AND BRIDGES 4942m of Roadway was strengthened and sealed with lot asphalt mix.

1 Bleacher was constructed.


770m of Jogging Track was constructed throughout the Borough 180n Fencing Work completed on Renaissance Park RECREATION FACILITIES 1 band stand was constructed 2 Pavilions were refurbished 1 Recreation ground illuminated 5 Children’s Play Park were constructed throughout the Borough.

CEMETERIES AND CREMATION 120m Fencing work completed on cemetery.

60m of Roadway was constructed.

112m of Roadway was strengthened and sealed with lot asphalt mix.

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